Children enjoy playing outdoors even during wintertime since outdoor play is an open space offering children the needed area to freely move, run and explore new things. Outdoor play is a crucial element in a childrens development journey.

The unlimited opportunities for climbing, jumping, running and more enhances the physical learning area and help in building gross motor skills. The exploration scenes and the interaction with the environment allow children to ask questions and try to find answers enhancing their cognitive skills and providing them with the needed elements to acquire a variety of milestones within understanding the world learning area. A child who is exposed to the outdoors is able to build his/her resilience, social skills, and problem-solving.

Playing outdoors gives the children sense of equilibrium and balance and boosts overall the children’s muscle tone and overall fitness. Climbing in the playground, bouncing on trampolines, and jumping are considered fun ways outdoor play helps in developing gross motor skills. The utmost importance giving them a sense of freedom which triggers them to explore and discover more.

Playing outdoors helps children to socialize, explore and challenge themselves through activities. Children’s resilience and self-confidence will be built through outdoor playing and mastering different challenges. In addition to that, when giving kids the freedom to explore new activities, they become more engaged and more socialized and they build their self-confidence. They will find different creative ways to learn and play.

Outdoors at nurseries are essential. They are considered as a learning space and a space to have fun. Outdoor plays help children to learn and get new things in a fun and interactive way. Kids are more motivated when playing, learning, and doing activities outdoor. At Miles of Smiles nursery Dubai, most of the activities are done outdoors. Learning through playing outdoors gives the child a useful multi-sensory experience, they learn to hear, touch, see, smell, and even taste. When the children’s senses are engaged, they can learn, experience, and understand the world.

Through playing outdoors, children can easily interact and communicate. It is the ideal environment for them to socialize and have fun. Their communication will be improved and the child will enrich their vocabulary. While having lots of fun, a child can develop social-emotional skills like sharing, taking turns, negotiating, and group activities so their language will be developed. Children in their early years are curious specifically about their surroundings, so by playing outdoors they will get the perfect opportunity to connect.

Miles of Smiles Barsha and Umm Suqeim are both offering spacious outdoors for the kids to learn and have fun through activities. There is a common outdoor for each branch and each class has its own outdoor space to learn and explore new things. Both branches offer bicycle spaces and at Umm Suqeim there is a gym space, playground, and swimming pool.

A nursery offering outdoor play with equipment is giving the child a great opportunity to be active all around the year.

The best activity that children could perform is playing since it is considered an enjoyable way for them to stay happy and active. Through play, children will be able to interact socially and be more active and creative. Miles of Smiles Nursery Dubai plays a great role in introducing play in their learning methodologies and activities, it becomes a part of the learning process. According to Montessori, learning through play is a very effective method, since it affects the child’s development and lets him seek to learn.

Play helps improve the physical, social, cognitive, and emotional of children. It helps children to discover the world around them in addition to themselves. Furthermore, it helps in stimulating their brain development, intelligence, communication skills, and creative thinking and it grows social competence.

Talking about brain development and stimulation, playing stimulates the brain of children, and thus supports the academic progress in all different aspects. Playing plays a great role in boosting children’s intelligence and, most specifically, their creativity and way of thinking. They will be able to come up with creative ideas. Play encourages listening and interactions so thekids will be able to enrich their vocabulary thus having better communication skills. While playing, the children are understanding each other different backgrounds and this understanding the world around them. Nurseries in Dubai and specifically Miles of Smiles early childhood center practices learn through play and help children to gain the most important skill which is selfregulation; how to share and wait for their turn to control negative feelings.

Playing helps in gaining specific skills that help in the development of the child like selfconfidence and esteem, interaction, resilience, independence, curiosity, and social skills. The child will be able to cope with challenging situations. Play develops physical health by doing some beneficial activities and it also develops social skills with others such as exploring feelings, self-expressing, and discipline.

Miles of Smiles is a nursery and preschool in Dubai which encourage playing and learning through play because it helps teachers and children to be fully connected. Teachers at the daycare are offering children the freedom to choose the different ares of play while they observe them and guide towards acquiring new skills and achieving various milestones. Children will definitely learn about challenges and risks in addition to how to deal with those risks. In the classroom, teachers are conveying the message through play and activities so the kids can enjoy and learn at the same time.

At almost all the nurseries in Dubai, playing is crucial and should be encouraged. It is a part of the curriculum and it makes the child feels at home.

Dubai is among the 10 most multicultural countries in the world. It is considered the most multicultural city with people speaking over three hundred languages. At Miles of Smiles, there are many nationalities varying from staff to students, so there are many cultures. Culture encompasses language, art, religion, way of communication, traditions, food, music, dance, beliefs, and others… Miles of Smiles Nursery Dubai encourages and practices cultural diversity. The cultural inclusion at Miles of Smiles offers a lot of benefits for children’s development across all areas especially in understanding the world.

The key benefits of cultural inclusion in Miles of Smiles are cultural competence, communication, and understanding, a sense of belonging, self-concept, and confidence. Talking about cultural competence is the ability to respect, understand and communicate with people from different nationalities, cultures, and beliefs. Cultural diversity activities are done in the nursery to help the child to develop cultural competencies. Establishing cultural competence in the early years is crucial and beneficial as you are developing the child personally, socially and emotionally for adulthood. Cultural inclusion enhances communication and understanding by building a strong relationship when accepting and respecting differences and finding common grounds. Cultural inclusion can play a greater role in growing and strengthening relationships with people in the nursery and it influences in a positive way the family units by improving communication and interactions. Cultural diversity experience in a nursery can highly affect the feeling of security and safety for children.

Children start to build a self-concept based on how others might perceive them. They are in need of honouring their culture to create a positive impact. If the environment in which they are spending most of their time is not validating their culture, they will feel unimportant even though it is their identity.  Supporting cultural diversity requires respect for all cultures and backgrounds. In the nursery, teachers encourage the acceptance of differences so children will definitely feel that they belong to the community. Confidence is the key benefit of cultural diversity in a childcare centre since when children are taught to respect other cultures and backgrounds they will feel confident when meeting others.

Miles of Smiles uses several ways to practice and encourage cultural diversity such as cultural events, snacks, food, dance, and music encouraging differences creating a welcoming environment and discouraging discrimination. At Miles of Smiles, there is an allocated theme for children across all age groups to teach them around the world. Miles of smiles celebrates many cultural events throughout the academic year for example Diwali, national days, festivals… Throughout cultural events such as International Day, the nursery will have the opportunity to focus on different cultures and promote acceptance. Food is considered the most important cultural trait. At Miles of Smiles, teachers are teaching children about different cuisines. In nursery classrooms, teachers always try to put rhymes in different languages in order to present the class. They try to implement the same music with different versions in order to please the whole class. At Miles of Smiles, the staff encourages differences and eliminates discrimination. Children are curious and teachers should be ready to answer any question and put effort to make them understand cultural diversity. Teachers at Miles of Smiles act without discrimination, they are role models so children will learn the respect of others.

When parents are looking for a nursery for their children, they should look for educators who will do their best to let the child adapts and feel accepted. They should look at how the staff is treating each other and how they interact in a respectful way with high equality and equity standards.

Nutrition and healthy diets are a pillar in children’s development journey. At Miles of Smiles Early childhood centre, nutrition and healthy food are taken seriously and we have drafted a  detailed policy and procedure to frame what is allowed and not. Although parents are aware of this importance they may be unaware of what food to provide for their children. So, we at Miles of Smiles Early Childhood centre send parents nutrition information packs to guide them about suggested snacks that they can prepare daily for their parents considering their various dietary preferences. As we always organize some webinars for this topic discussion, now we are writing the below article for parents to learn about the ideal time for meals for their children and much more.

During the early years, the child is developing and growing very rapidly and his body needs support and a healthy nutritious diet. There is a serious relationship between healthy food and how it impacts children’s growth and academic achievements. A healthy diet for toddlers and growing children benefits them in many ways, first, it gives them the energy they need to play and learn, to build good muscles and bones, and definitely healthy teeth. Healthy food also protects kids from being ill in addition to that, it protects them from diseases later in their life. Between the ages of 1 to 4, healthy eating helps in building a strong body, a perfect relationship with food, and healthy food eating habits. It is essential to build a strong body and to ensure a well-developing brain and this is mainly what healthy eating and proper diet can influence.

Having poor nutrition and a non-proper diet in this specific stage of life can lead to many serious problems like emotional and physical problems, developmental delays, and low immunity that cause illness and slow recovery. In order to grow and have strong immunity, children need a well-balanced diet containing all the vitamins and minerals that the body needs. Healthy eating encourages proper growth and helps in avoiding chronic diseases. A proper nutritious diet gives energy to children and makes them more active, attentive, and able to learn and perform well at the nursery so it highly affects their behaviours.

A proper diet includes a balance of all the food groups and types that parents can include in their children’s meals to ensure that they are getting the most essential nutrients such as proteins found in food like eggs, fish, pulses, meat, beans, carbohydrates found in bread, rice, potatoes, grains and pasta, vegetables and fruits rich in minerals and vitamins containing fibres that facilitate the digestion and fats like cheese, oils, butter, yoghurt, and milk. To get a balanced diet, parents should include food from each of the groups in regulated quantities.

Children are in need of three complete meals during the day but children need to have snacks between meals to control their hunger. Snacks are very beneficial since it is through snacks that parents can add extra nutrition to their kids’ diets. Furthermore, children in their early years cannot eat a lot so snacking is important to support them. Snacks prevent kids from getting cranky so providing them with snacks between the three meals is important and it becomes a good habit this habit will enhance their metabolism and allows them to gain the habit of being filled with small quantities.

There are a lot of excellent healthy and tasty snacks that parents can provide for their children such as fruits like grapes, strawberries, blackberries, and raspberries. The most important thing is to cut the fruits to prevent the child from choking. Vegetables are also good options for snacks such as carrots, cucumber, and beetroot. Vegetables and fruit juices, milkshakes are also perfect options for a quick snack.

All children are in need of healthy snacks and meals and we take the responsibility of promoting their health in partnership with their parents. It is so important to offer children at the nursery healthy food and make them enjoy their mealtime. A proper diet is all about balance.

At Miles of Smiles Nursery, the staff ensures that children are eating healthy food and snacks and always encourage the parents to provide their kids with a healthy and proper diet.

Extracurricular activities show many benefits from helping children build strong relationships with their friends, socialization, and health benefits. When the child explores different hobbies, it will help them better understand themselves learn their interests, and desires and figure out their talents as well as keep them busy in what rewards their life and achievements in the long run.

A child can benefit a lot when engaging in extracurricular activities, like time management, and commitments, and learning these skills could be very useful for the rest of the child’s life. In order to find passion in sports, music, and others, being exposed to various activities is crucial. While exercising these hobbies, self-confidence, and esteem will be built. Furthermore, when children are involved in such activities that include teamwork and goals, will build strong personalities, and self-confidence and will gain different skills later in their life. It is very important and beneficial to teach children to have a specific goal in their early years because setting goals can highly affect the confidence and motivation of a child. Studies show that a child involved in activities has a tendency to get better academics than a child who spends his/her time watching television and using electronics since it definitely affects his/her social life in terms of building relations and having friends. In Dubai, nurseries and preschools include extracurricular activities as options to entertain children and to let them benefit in different ways.

Miles of Smiles offers a variety of extracurricular activities options that children can get involved in based on their interests and age. Children can experience Ballet, Karate, Kiddie Gym, Football, and Musical Movement. All these activities have allowed them to create links between themselves and to develop their agility sense of rhythm, coordination, their precision, team spirit, interactions, and their passion.

For us, it is essential that the children try out different sports in order to find the one that best suits their personality, as it is our duty to build a love of sport and the desire to practice regular physical activity in children from a very early age so it becomes a healthy habit which impacts their health and physical status later on.

So, in order to discover their interests and passions, make sure your child is involved in extracurricular activities!

Choosing the right place for your child in his/her Early years is a crucial decision that may impact their whole life. For this reason, it is accompanied by different factors where the environment plays a huge role in it. Many parents consider this decision as one of the hardest tasks to do. So, they start their search early and eliminate to find the best nurseries and schools for their little ones. They try to find the perfect nursery or school that feels right for their child. In many schools in UAE and specifically, the British curriculum, the French Curriculum children begin at FS1 which is the age of 3 years old.

Parents can choose a school from FS1 if they found out that their child is ready for all the challenges of life at school and they can choose to extend their child’s early years by staying in a childhood center.

The question is: Why parents should choose to enrol their kids for FS1 and FS2 at a nursery?

It is crucial to keep in mind that children aged three years still need considerable assistance, comfort, support, and attention. What differentiates Miles of Smiles Nursery Dubai is the classes’ space and the number of students in each class. Miles of Smiles Nursery’s class capacity is 10 to 12 students with a teacher and an assistant, so teachers can focus on every student. She can understand their emotions, needs, and desires. Teachers will be able to focus more on the strengths and work to improve the student’s weaknesses. Through such a supportive environment, the child flourishes and the transition will be easier.

Furthermore, working hours at Miles of Smiles nurseries al Barsha and Um Suqeim are extended to 6:00 pm so parents who are working and in need of extended care in the afternoons will find the nursery a great option for FS1 and FS2 especially because they provide the same curriculum as FS1 and FS2 at schools. Parents who are working during school holidays would definitely benefit since Miles of Smiles includes holiday programs such as winter, spring, and summer camps to keep the child engaged so the environment will be the same and they will feel more comfortable since their child is used to the nursery environment.

At the nursery, a strong relationship is built between the child, the teachers, and the teacher’s assistants so the child feels at home. Even if your child is not yet totally potty trained this will not be an obstacle to attending the FS1 and FS2 classes, as we at Miles of Smiles accommodate children’s needs and help them achieve this milestone. The nursery accommodates the child’s needs who are not yet independent, for example, support in eating, and even afternoon naps so that a child is gradually achieving independence and control over physical and care areas of development. Schools request the child to be toilet trained so the pressure for toilet training will be reduced. FS1 and fS2 prepare the child for mainstream and formal schools and help them to be more independent in order to minimize the challenges that they might face when attending mainstream schools. The nursery is a home away from home, the child will be more settled especially if he/she is new to Dubai. Miles of Smiles offers families access to a parent app for daily updates.

At the nursery, children will develop fine motor skills, language skills, communication, and emotional and physical development so they will be able to write. Children’s academic progress is not enhanced and lots of work is done with children through adult-led activities and child-initiated activities to achieve a variety of milestones and skills especially the understanding of now, before and after as it is a priority to enter mainstream schools and excel. They might express themselves through play, activities, and creativity and they will be able to write. Teachers are able to concentrate more on every child.

At Miles of Smiles nursery Dubai, the educators work on developing the children’s skills and preparing them for formal school.

The first years in the life of children have a huge influence on the rest of their lives and that’s linked to the rapid acquisition of skills and developmental milestones. Scientists have shown images of the neurons of a child’s brain at birth, at the age of 2 and at the age of 5 and after illustrating the obvious difference in the number of neurons between birth and 2 years old and 5 years than it is similarity afterwards which impacts the fact about how learning and development are at its utmost during this time span. And here comes the role of the early childhood centre and the importance of registering your child in it to understand how it aids their development and growth especially if their journey starts from 6 months onwards.

For some parents, it is a difficult decision to be done that involves lots of hesitation, especially when they have the choice of keeping them at home. However, the communication and social skills a toddler develops during the time at the early childhood centre are numerous and not present elsewhere. These are considered the prime areas of learning that are fundamental for various specific areas to excel at different stages. It’s the time when the brain of the children is most receptive to learning.

Socialization is so important during the early years of a child. It is through socialization, that self-esteem, self-confidence, and personality are built. The teachers at this stage, do beneficial activities that help in developing relationships between the children themselves and the children and adults. The group activities such as reading stories, singing, and role plays help the children to experience a sense of belonging to a community. Outdoor plays encourage social development and develop skills to care for their environment and understand the world as well.

In addition to that, the early childhood centre provides the ideal perfect environment in which the child feels safe, and comfortable and learns to interact, identify and communicate with others. Most children under the age of 3 have not experienced meaningful interactions with their outside environment, so they have no clue how to deal with others and make friends. These social matters are almost foreign to them, so nurseries will help them to be exposed to a shared environment.

It is through socialization that a child can practice the importance of cooperation and teamwork. Socialization during this stage helps toddler to develop their communication skills since the kids get engaged through plays and activities together with their teachers. This kind of interaction helps children to learn and imitate.

Nurseries encourage fun learning by providing the right environment such as toys, games playing, and an indoor well-equipped environment to assure safe movement. The children get the chance to play with other kids and have close interactions. They learn how to live with others. In this way, children will cultivate social skills and emotional skills, and positive communication. Emotional development in the early stage is too important. It is very important that your children grow up in an environment that enables such close interactions and ensures positive relationships.

Talking about the importance of socialization, helps the child to become less anxious about being separated from their parents. So, it helps in raising more resilient children. It helps in nurturing their talents since the child learns very fast and develops an interest in that stage. Toddlers’ socialization enhances the children’s confidence around others and helps them to be more comfortable in forming relationships and being around people. It also helps the children to develop emotional connections and bonds later in life, and it encourages the child to share and take turns. Toddler will learn about other feelings and desires and learn about the acceptance of others. They will be taught to find different ways to adapt and participate.

Finally, enrolling toddlers in a nursery will give them a chance to grow their social and emotional skills. Through interaction and play, they will learn how to communicate and respect others. These skills can only be learned in a social setting.

Maria Montessori was a doctor and educator in Italy. She was not a fan of the traditional methods of education and learning, which were based on discipline and absolute obedience, keeping children tied to desks and stifling their natural curiosity. She therefore developed her own teaching method, which aimed at the free and full development of children according to their natural stages of development and interests. In 1907, she opened her own institution, the Casa Dei Bambini, which was entirely based on her principles and methods. And while she initially focused on children with various disabilities, she soon came to the conclusion that this new way of teaching was also beneficial for healthy and fully capable students.

The Montessori method of education is a system of education that aims to foster the natural interests and activities of children. Essentially, the Montessori method is based on the belief that children can initiate their own learning experiences. A Montessori classroom focuses on self-directed activity, hands-on learning and collaborative play. Children in Montessori classrooms make creative choices in their learning, while the class and the highly trained teacher provide age-appropriate activities. According to Montessori theory, in the first six years, children move through five different stages: language, motor skills, sensory skills and social skills. Parents often seek out early learning centres and Nursery that apply the Montessori method because they want their child to thrive in an organic and natural environment. However, few parents know that the Montessori Method can be applied at home, in everyday tasks, in their own domestic environment.

Ensure that stools are available next to the kitchen sinks and basins so that children can learn to wash their hands by themselves.
Organise some clothes in baskets or low drawers. Make them accessible to children so they can pick out their favourite outfits or put them away after laundry.
Make healthy snacks available to children. Have the water bottle filled and stored at a low level, encouraging children to take care of their own needs independently.
Place toys and puzzles on shelves or in baskets at a low level, which can promote independence and help children choose the toy they want.
Place children’s books on the lower shelves of your bookcase so that they can access their favourite book whenever they want. This helps to promote a love of reading.
On the other hand, as a parent, you should insist on promoting your children’s basic skills, as these skills will accompany them throughout their journey to adulthood. Teaching your child to take care of themselves and their environment from an early age will prepare them to be caring and competent adults in the future. It will take more effort on the part of parents to teach children how to properly wipe the table after meals or where to put their cups, but their minds are so absorbing that they will be able to do it independently in no time.

However, some of the principles of the Maria Montessori Method can be successfully implemented at home. We suggest how to do this.

Watch your child carefully. Through this you will find out what interests him/her at the moment. When you notice a passion, offer appropriate toys and aids. For example, if you see that your toddler is interested in drawing, provide coloured pencils, paints and markers, as well as sheets of paper, to keep handy. If you see that he is interested in numbers or letters, suggest appropriate books, exercise books, letter and number blocks, magnetic letters and numbers, etc.

Allow the child to be independent. Do not do for them what they can already do. Don’t dress them if they already know how to do it themselves, even if it takes much longer.

Involve your child in practical activities. Involve them in cleaning, hanging laundry, gardening or preparing meals. Remember to keep your child’s safety in mind, but you will probably find more than once that if you allow your child to be independent, their dexterity and responsibility will develop at the same time.

Let your child choose and make decisions. Let him decide for himself what he wants to play with, what book we should read to him before bedtime, what he will have for breakfast (\”Do you prefer cereal or a sandwich?\”) or what he will wear (the clothes, or at least some of them, should be within the child’s reach so that he can help himself).

Choose appropriate toys (learning materials). Before buying a new toy for your child, think about its purpose and use. Examine it carefully and assess whether it can teach your child something and whether it will be of interest to him/her.

When considering the implementation of the Montessori Method in a child’s life, it is important to take this into account.

Children should be given tasks appropriate to their age and ability. For example, young children can be taught to water plants, wipe the table after meals, and pick up and put away their toys. Older children can incorporate more complex tasks into their routine, such as preparing meals, helping with shopping, washing fruit and vegetables, taking out the rubbish and more…

From infancy to childhood to adulthood, children grow, their interests and skills change, their level of play changes and it is the adult’s responsibility to help, support and guide children along the way.

Come and discover our Montessori Nursery located in Dubai in Al barsha 3. Our Montessori teacher will be happy to show you their method of education. Do not hesitate to contact us via our contact form or by phone: +971 50 377 5396 to make an appointment and visit our Nursery.